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General Sir Robert Ford was the Army’s commander in Northern Ireland during some of the most difficult early days of the IRA’s campaign, a period during which Alistair Lexden was in academic life at Queen’s University, Belfast. He recalled some aspects of the General’s work in Ulster in The Times on December 2, supplementing the paper’s obituary of him.
Sir Robert Ford took up his post as commander land forces in Northern Ireland only three days before the introduction of internment in the Province in August 1971, not a month before as your admirably balanced obituary (Nov.28) states. Nor was this highly controversial step taken by Ted Heath; Brian Faulkner, then the Northern Ireland prime minister, was responsible for it. Ford was given no time to check the lists of terrorist suspects provided by the police, which contained many errors. The following year he did deal directly with Heath over the planning of Operation Motorman to clear Londonderry of no-go areas. Heath asked him if he thought there might be up to 100 casualties. “Yes, prime minister”, he replied. “I think that up to 100 would be politically acceptable”, Heath said coldly. No one was killed, though Ford put himself at grave risk by sitting on the turret of a tank as it went through a barricade that was thought to be mined-- typical of this utterly fearless man.